Track-laying capstan



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26, 1959 INVENTOR T Swanson ATTORNEY5 May 9, 1961 V. T. SWANSON TRACK-LAYING CAPSTAN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 26, 1959 IN VENTOR We for T Swanson ATTORNEYS y 1961 v. T. SWANSON 2,983,417

TRACK-LAYING CAPSTAN Filed March 26, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR V/CTO! T Swan son States 2,983,417 TRACK-LAYING CAPSTAN Victor T. Swanson, New Haven, Conn., assignor to Wire Machinery Corporation of America, Incorporated, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut This invention relates to capstans, and relates more particularly to track-laying capstans which are not uncommonly of the flying type. Track-laying capstans are commonly provided with two driven endless belts or tracks arranged in opposing relation to one another so that the tracks frictionally bear against and pull a strand, cable or rope guided therebetween. Heretofore in such capstans, particularly in capstans of the fiying type, difficulty has been encountered in adjusting the pressure of the tracks on the cable, rope or the like. The pressure of such tracks on a cable may vary during the running or operation of the capstan. Too much pressure of the tracks tends to flatten the cable while too little pressure tends to create slippage between the tracks and the cable.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved capstan of the track-laying type.

Another object is to provide a capstan having improved means for adjusting the pressure of the tracks on a cable or the like. i i Y Still another object is to provide a track-laying capstan of the flying type, having means to adjust the track pressure while the capstan is running.

In the drawings: 7 Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating a capstan embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1', Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectionalview taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. l'; and

Fig. 6 is a further enlarged fragmentary view illustrating, in axial section, the frictional engagement of the tracks with a wire article which, for the sake of convenience, is illustrated as a solid wire strand.

In the draw-ings,-the elongated cradle of the capstan, which is illustrated as of oblong form in axial section,

is indicated generally at 10. A trunnion 11is fixed to one end of the cradle and a trunnion 12 is fixed to the other end, the trunnions being hollow. As best shown in Fig. 3, the trunnion 11 is journaled in a standard 13, and, as best shown in Fig. 2, the trunnion 12 is journaled in a standard '14. As shown in the last-mentioned view, the journal for the trunnion 12 includes a suitable antifriction device 15 positioned with respect to the trunnion by a nut 16 threaded on the trunnion. The journal for the trunnion 12 also includes a suitable packing member 17 embracing the trunnion. A hollow shaft 14 extends through the standard 14 and the trunnion 12 and is angularly fixed to the standard 14, as at 18. The shaft 14*, which is stationary, extends into the corresponding end of the cradle and a suitable antifriction device 19 is interposed between the shaft 14 and the trunnion 12. A pulley 20 is suitably fixed to the trunnion 12 intermediate the corresponding end of the cradle and the standard 14, and a belt 21 is trained over the pulley to rotate the cradle in one direction or the other on its longitudinal axis.

tent O It will be understood that the belt 21 may be driven by any suitable mechanism (not shown) and that the direction of the drive of the belt may be reversed when desired. v

The aforementioned journal for the trunnion 11 includes an antifriction device 22 interposed between the standard 13 and the trunnion 11. The journal also includes annular sealing or packing elements 23, 23 embracing the trunnion 11 and includes a nut 24 threaded on the trunnion 11 to position the antifriction device with respect to the trunnion. The hollow trunnion 11 receives a hollow shaft 25 which extends through the standard13 and throughthe corresponding end of the cradle, the shaft 25 being axially slidable in the trunnion and being angularly fixed to the latter, as at 26, so as to rotate therewith. The hollow shaft 25 which is adjustable lengthwise in a manner which will appear hereinafter, effects adjustment of the two endless belts or tracks of the capstan, the belts being indicated generally at 27. The belts 27 are driven through a beveled gear 28 fast on the end portion of the stationary shaft M which lies within the cradle. The gear 28 meshes with a bevel gear 29 fast on a shaft 30 revolubly mounted in the cradle and extending transversely of the axis thereof, as indicated in Fig. 2. The mounting of the shaft 30 includes suitable antifriction devices 31. that when the pulley 20, which is in fixed relation to the cradle, is driven by the belt 21 in one direction or the other, the bevel gear 29, which meshes with the stationary bevel gear 28, is driven from the latter to drive the shaft 30. The shaft 30 drives a gear 32 fixed thereon,

which meshes with a gear 33 to drive the latter which is shown in full lines in Fig. 4 as being mounted on a shaft 34 to drive the shaft. As shown in the last-mentioned view, the shaft 34 is mounted in the cradle and extends transversely through the latter, the gear 33 being mounted on one end of the shaft. A gear 35, similar to the gear 33, is fixed on the other end of the shaft 34 and meshes with a similar gear 36. The gear 36 is fast on one end of a shaft 37 which is mounted in the cradle and extends transversely through the latter a distance above the shaft 34- as it is viewed in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 4, two duplex sprockets 38 are provided, one being fixed on the shaft 34 and the other being v27. As viewed in Fig. 3, the tracks 27 are located one above the other. The twin sprocket chains 39 on the upper track 27 are trained over a duplex idler sprocket 40 mounted on a shaft 41. The shaft 41, mounted in the cradle, is arranged in parallelism with the shaft 37 and is spaced from the latter a distance lengthwise .of the cradle, as best shown in Fig. 1. The twin sprocket chains of the lower track27 are trained over a sprocket 42, similar to the sprocket 40, and carried by a shaft 43, similar to the shaft 41, and mounted in the cradle a distance below and in approximate vertical alignment with the shaft 41 as viewed in Fig. 1. Two duplex idlers 45 are provided. The duplex idlers 45 serve to tighten the respective tracks 27. To tighten the respective tracks the idlers 45 may have conventional spring mountings in the cradle, theidlers 45 being shown to advantage in Fig. 1 of the drawings. As best shown in Fig. 4, the twin chains 39 of the corresponding tracks are laterally spaced apart, and the twin chains cooperate with the respective duplex idlers 45. The twin chains 39 of each track carry the usual outwardly facing gripping elements 46 spaced somewhat apart along the chains and each having a somewhat resilient rubberlike facing member 47.

It will be understood It will be manifest from the foregoing that the hollow shafts 14 and 2.5 at the corresponding ends of the cradle serve as guides for a cable, rope or .the like extending through the cradle andpassingbetween the tracks 27 to beifrictionally engaged thereby so'as to be carried along in accordance with the directions of movement of the tracks. A cable, for example, may enter the capstan through the hollow guide shaft 25 and exit through the hollow guide shaft 14 It will be understood from the foregoing that as the cradle is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 through the action of the belt 21 trained over the pulley 20, the tracks are driven in a direction to advance the cable toe ward the exit of the capstan through the gears 28, 29, 32, 33, 35 and 36. It will be understood that to effect this movement the chain-driving sprockets 38 are driven in opposite directions. If it is desired to reverse the direction of rotationof the capstan without affecting the direction of movement of the tracks, the'gear 33 must be removed from the shaft 34 and fixed on the shaft 37 in the broken-line position thereof, shown in Fig. 4. In this position, the gear 33 meshes again with the gear 32 and now drives directly the shaft 37 which, under these conditions, drives the shaft 34 through the gears 36 and 35. In Fig. 6 the opposing runs of the tracks 27 are shown frictionally engaginga wire article 49 which, for convenience, is illustrated as a single solid strand of wire.

To adjust the pressure of the tracks on a cable, for example, so that the cable does not tend to be flattened by the tracks but, at the same time, does not tend to slip relatively to the opposing runs of the tracks, two presser bars are provided for cooperation with the respecber 70 also embraces the guide 25 and is threaded into the other end portion of the sleeve member 67. An antifriction device 71 is interposed between the central portion of the member 67 and the rotary guide 25. The

.. antifrictiondevice 71 abuts a shoulder 72 provided on the guide 25 and the antifrictiou device is held on the guide by a nut 73 which is disposed within the cupshaped member 70 and threaded on the guide 25. The boss 69 carries a suitable annular packing or sealing member 74 closely embracing the rotary guide 25 and the cup member 70 carries a similar sealing member 75. It may be noted that the antifriction device 71 which is axially fixed with respect to the guide 25, is axially fixed to the sleeve member 67 by the boss 69 and the cupshaped member 70 which sandwich the device 71 therebetween.

tive tracks, the presser bars being indicated generally at 50 and being mounted on the cradle for adjustment in one direction tending to press the opposing runs of the tracks toward one another and for adjustment in another direction tending to permit separation of the aforementioned runs under the influence of the biased idlers 45 which act on the other runs of the respective tracks. As

best shown in Fig. l, the presser bars 50 are elongated lengthwise of the cradle. Each bar 50- is adjustably mounted by means of two pivotal links 51 spaced apart lengthwise of the bar and maintained in parallelism with one another through their connection to the bar. Each link 51 is pivoted to the corresponding bar, as at 52, and pivoted to the cradle, as at 53, the arrangement being such that each bar 50 may swing toward and away from the axis of the cradle on a radius. The bars 50 are maintained in parallel relation to each other and. the axis of the cradle through the links 51. As best shown in Fig. 6, each bar 50- is provided with two longitudinallyextending and laterally spaced apart tracks 54 on which the cross pins of the respective sprocket chains 39 ride. It will be manifest from the foregoing that when the bars 50 are swung in a direction to approach one another the opposing runs of the tracks are moved toward one another while these runs may tend to separate as the bars 50 are moved away from one another.

To adjust the presser bars 50, two links 56 are provided, one of the links 56 being provided for one of the bars 50 and the other being provided for the other bar 50. Each link 56 has one end thereof pivotally connected to the corresponding bar 50 on the swinging axis 52 of the bar nearest the guide 25. The other end of each link 56 is pivoted, as at 57, on a collar 58 embracing the inner end of the guide 25 and held thereon by a nut 59, the last-mentioned ends of the links 56 having a common pivotal axis. The links 56 are, in effect, actuating links for the presser bars 50 and are operated by lengthwise movement of the guide 25. To move the guide 25 lengthwise in both directions, a hand wheel 65, best shown in Fig. 3, is provided in embracing relation to the guide 25, the hand wheelhaving an internally threaded concentric boss 66 fixed thereto and serving as As previously pointed out, the tubular guide 25 is keyed to the trunnion 11 of the cradle to rotate therewith. To hold the hand wheel 65 in axially fixed position and to prevent rotation of the member 67, the flange 68 and the cup-shaped member 70, a plurality of bolts 77 are provided, the bolts being circumferentially spaced around the flange 68. The bolts 77 are'snugly received in suitable bores in the flange 68 and each bolt has the inner end thereof threaded into the standard 13. The other ends of the bolts 77 extend through suitable bores in an annular plate 78 and are secured thereto, as by nuts 79. The annular plate 78, which is held stationary by the bolts 77, extends into an annular circumferential groove 80 formed in the boss 66 of the movement of the links 56 interconnecting the guide 25 with the bars 50. Reverse movement of the hand wheel 65 effects reverse movement of the presser bars 50.

In accordance with the foregoing disclosure, there is provided an improved capstan of the track-laying type.

- It will be apparent that the invention, while not limited thereto, is particularly applicable to a track-laying capstan of the flying type. It will be further understood that the track pressure of the capstan on a cable or the like may be easily adjusted, even during the running or operation of the capstan, by merely'rotating the hand wheel which controls the presser bars of the capstan. Another advantage of the capstan is that it is constructed of relatively few and simple parts and will not readily get out of order.

While only one form of the capstan has been illustrated in the drawings and described above, it will be readily apparent to those versed in the art that the capstan may take other forms and is susceptible of various modifications and changes in details without departing from the principles of the invention and the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a capstan, a cradle, a pair of laterally spaced upright support members, the cradle having hollow trun-' nions at the ends thereof mounted in the respective support members and extending therethrough for supporting the cradle for rotary movement, a pair of endless driven tracks mounted in the cradle for movement generally lengthwise of the latter and disposed at opposite sides of the cradles rotary axis, yieldable means pressing against each track and tending to remove the slack therefrom, each track having a run in opposing relation to a run of the other track to frictionally bear against and pull an elongated article introduced into the cradle through one of the hollow trunnions and exiting through the other, a pair of movably mounted presser bars for adjustably pressing said runs toward one another to vary the efiective size of the opening therebetween, each bar being engageable with one of said runs at the surface thereof remote from the surface which bears against the article, a hollow guide for the elongated article and mounted on one of the trunnions for movement lengthwise of said rotary axis, actuating means for the presser bars interconnecting the latter with said movable guide, and means for moving said guide on said axis for effecting adjustment of the presser bars, the last-named means comprising a rotary operating member in concentric relation to the guide and having an operative connection to the latter.

2. In a capstan, a cradle, a pair of laterally spaced upright support members, the cradle having hollow trunnions at the ends thereof mounted in the respective support members for supporting the cradle for rotary movement, a pair of endless driven tracks mounted in the cradle for movement generally lengthwise of the latter and disposed at opposite sides of the cradles rotary axis, yieldable means pressing against each track and tending to remove the slack therefrom, each track having a run in opposing relation to a run of the other track to frictionally bear against and pull an elongated article introduced into the cradle through one of the hollow trunnions and exiting through the other, a pair of movably mounted presser bars for adjustably pressing said runs toward one another to vary the etfective size of the opening therebetween, each bar being engageable with one of said runs at the surface thereof remote from the surface which bears against the article, a tube through which the elongated article passes at one end portion of the cradle, means supporting the tube for axial sliding movement, actuating means for the presser bars interconnecting the latter with said slidable tube, and means for sliding the tube for effecting adjustment of the presser bars, the last-named means comprising a rotary operating member in concentric relation to the tube and having an operative connection to the latter.

3. In a capstan, a cradle, a pair of laterally spaced upright support members, the cradle having hollow trunnions at the ends thereof mounted in the respective support members for supporting the cradle for rotary movement, a pair of endless driven tracks mounted in the cradle for movement generally lengthwise of the latter and disposed at opposite sides of the cradles rotary axis, yieldable means pressing against each track and tending to remove the slack therefrom, each track having a run in opposing relation to a run of the other track to frictionally bear against and pull an elongated article introduced into the cradle through one of the hollow trunnions and exiting through the other,- a pair of movably mounted presser bars for adjustably pressing said runs toward one another to vary the efiective size of the opening therebetween, each bar being engageable with one of said runs at the surface thereof remote from the surface which bears against the article, a tube through which the elongated article passes at one end portion of the cradle, said tube being angularly rigid with the cradle for rotary movement with the latter, means supporting the tube for axial sliding movement, actuating means for the presser bars interconnecting the latter with said slidable tube, and means for sliding the tube for eifecting adjustment of the presser bars, the last-named means comprising a rotaryoperating member in concentric relation to the guide and having an operative connection to the latter.

4. In a capstan, a cradle, a pair of laterally spaced upright support members, the cradle having hollow trunnions at the ends thereof mounted in the respective support members for supporting the cradle for rotary movement, a pair of endless driven tracks mounted in the cradle for movement generally lengthwise of the latter and disposed at opposite sides of the cradles rotary axis, yieldable means pressing against each track and tending to remove the slack therefrom, each track having a run inopposing relation to a run of the other track to frictionally bear against and pull an elongated article introduced into the cradle through one of the hollow trunnions and exiting through the other, a pair of presser bars for adjustably pressing said runs toward one another to vary the effective size of the opening therebetween, each bar being engageable with one of said runs at the surface thereof remote from the surface which bears against the article, the presser bars each being mounted by parallel links for swinging movement generally lengthwise of the cradle, link means interconnecting the presser bars, a tube through which the elongated article passes at one end portion of the cradle and angularly rigid with the cradle for rotation with the latter, means supporting the tube for axial sliding movement, the tube being connected to said link means to efiect adjustment of the presser bars on sliding movement of the tube, and means for sliding the tube axially comprising a rotary operating member in concentric relation to the tube and having an operative connection to the latter.

5. In a capstan, a cradle, a pair of laterally spaced upright support members, the cradle having hollow trunnions at the ends thereof mounted in the respective support members for supporting the cradle for rotary movement, a pair of endless driven tracks mounted in the cradle for movement generally lengthwise of the latter and disposed at opposite sides of the cradles rotary axis, yieldable means pressing against each track and tending to remove the slack therefrom, each track having a run in opposing relation to a run of the other track to frictionally bear against and pull an elongated article introduced into the cradle through one of the hollow trunnions and exiting through the other, a pair of presser bars for adjustably pressing said runs toward one another to vary the elfective size of the opening therebetween, each bar being engageable with one of said runs at the surface thereof remote from the surface which bears against the article, the presser bars each being mounted by parallel links for swinging movement generally lengthwise of the cradle, link means interconnecting the presser bars, a tube through which the elongated article passes at one end portion of the cradle and angularly rigid with the cradle for rotation with the latter, means supporting the tube for axial sliding movement, the tube being connected to said link means to eifect adjustment of the presser bars on sliding movement of the tube, and means for sliding the tube axially comprising a rotary operating member in concentric relation to the tube and having an operative connection to the latter, said operating member comprising an axially fixed nut cooperating with a nonrotary hollow screw embracing the tube in axially fixed relation thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

